Love Remembers: Elephant Mother Cries And Embraces Adopted Baby After Years Apart

The phrase “an elephant never forgets” rings true in all aspects of the animal’s life, including motherhood. A touching story from Thailand shows how the bonds of motherhood thrive in animals, even when mother and daughter do not share biological bonds.

Two Separations

A baby elephant named Mebai was taken away from her biological mother and sold to a tourism camp that specialized in treks through the Thai jungle. While in camp, Mebai befriended an older female elephant named Mae Boon Sri. The older animal looked after the younger one as if Mebai was her own daughter, according to LittleThings.com.

Mebai was released to an elephant sanctuary where she eventually reunited with her biological mother. However, Mae Boon Sri no longer had a daughter, and — for the second time in her life — Mebai was separated from a mother figure.

Reunion

Years after Mebai was taken from her, the older elephant was rescued and taken to the elephant sanctuary on foot with no restraints. The elephant retired from the tourist company because her back was unable to carry the weight of humans anymore. The trek took days, but in the end the journey was well worth it. A film crew documented the journey as humans walked alongside Mae Boon Sri to her new home.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. After Mae Boon Sri entered the sanctuary, she reunited with her adoptive daughter and she met Mebai’s biological mother for the first time.

The video below shows how both mothers examined each other and made loud noises as if to celebrate. The baby elephant, six years old at the time of the reunion, touched both of her mothers in similar fashion as if to show appreciation and love for both of the females in her life.

Handlers said “you could hear the joy” in the trumpets, noises and vocalizations coming from the gigantic animals. Elephant daughters live with their mothers for their entire lives as part of an elephant herd. An elephant living apart from her mother for appreciable amount of time could have devastating consequences for the animal’s well-being.What would a human mother do if her baby was taken unwillingly from her? Upon seeing the child again, the reunion would be full of the happy, joyful sounds of laughter and tears, hugging and kissing. Maybe we aren’t so different after all. To find out how you can help animals in need all over the world, visit The Animal Rescue Site.